


If I Could Tell Him

by ElopeToTheSea



Series: I Love Play Rehearsal [3]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Crushes, Destiny Island Trio (Kingdom Hearts), M/M, Music Nerd Riku, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Pining, Popular Girl Kairi, School Play, Sora having his gay crisis, THEYRE FRIENDS AND THEY LOVE AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER, Theatre Kid Sora
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:08:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23552083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElopeToTheSea/pseuds/ElopeToTheSea
Summary: “Well, good thing he isn’t playing?” Kairi asked with a gentle quirk of the head.Riku almost dropped the ukulele.“He what?!”“Well, Sora isn’t playing in the musical,” Kairi said again. “I’m not surprised. With all that went on with Roxas and him.”
Relationships: Kairi & Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi & Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: I Love Play Rehearsal [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1658089
Comments: 6
Kudos: 97





	If I Could Tell Him

By the time Riku reached the first day of senior year, he was convinced.

His life was an utter nightmare.

Wake up, go to school, play music, hang out with assholes he barely tolerated, chat with Kairi, then pass out in her couch until it was time to go home and sleep.

It was a miracle he even felt like waking up half the time. But, all in all, his life wasn’t the worst. These days, he rarely got bullied or made fun in the halls. Mostly, because he hung out with said assholes he barely tolerated.

Regardless of what he thought of Larxene, Demyx, Luxord and Marluxia, he still hung out with them. Not really because he _liked_ them. Far from it. But because, at this point, Riku had nowhere else to go.

Kairi had a group of friends. All girls, more than happy to invite her to parties, and chat about boys they liked. He couldn’t take that away from her. Riku knew she needed that life. Full of glitter and laughs, people other than _him_ to joke with. 

And Sora…

Being realistic, in such a situation he should have been left with nothing. Left to hang out in bathrooms to eat lunch alone and practising with his guitar after music class, alone until the lights were out.

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, Larxene and her friends decided to take a liking on him. They constantly bothered him in between classes and lunch. Pestering him to join them, even when Riku would much rather hide in a classroom and wait until it was time to go home.

It was a complete mystery why they hung out with him, and why he tolerated them. Maybe it was loneliness. Maybe it was regret, a way of punishing himself for what he did to Sora.

Whatever the reason was, he was stuck. But well, it wasn’t the _worst_. The gang _could_ be fun – when they weren’t being absolute dickheads -. And the perks of hanging out with the bullies was, well, that you weren’t _bullied_. At least, not in public. And you could always punch back.

For some reason, they liked it when Riku was being an asshole back to them. Why? He really didn’t understand. In the past, they had been the cause of most of the insults thrown Riku’s way. But now, here he was. Calling Larxene a sap for wanting Maluxia to take her to prom, and not getting mauled.

(Maybe he got punched once or twice, but with his growth spurt and his new obsession with the gym, her fists seemed to grow weaker).

Another upside that his strange friendship with them seemed to get him, was the rumours. Riku never particularly cared about them. He’d much rather keep scribbling notes to play in whichever new instrument he’d gotten his hands into than listen to Larxene gossip about a kid he didn’t care about.

But, the rumours were true, Larxene knew everything about everyone. And just by listening to her once every day, in the interlude between finishing his lunch and putting his headphones on, you could get a perfect picture of what was going on in the school.

Which it was why Riku froze up when he heard her say that one thing.

“Sora, what?”

“ _That_ caught your attention?” Larxene asked with a raised eyebrow. Everyone at their table turned to look at him, equally confused. “I said the theatre kid confessed to someone. A dude, that much I know…What was his name?”

“Roxas?” Riku supplied.

“Right!” Larxene said with a smile. Although it was far from something that brought joy. It was sly and covered with the distinct glee of a new gossip forming in her mouth. “I heard he got like, _super_ rejected.”

“How?” Riku, completely baffled in place.

Larxene blinked. Once. Twice. Then did a double-take, eyeing Luxord for clarification. When said person shrugged, she continued.

“Are you blind?” Larxene asked. “Of course he got rejected! Roxas has a _boyfriend_.”

“He does?” Riku asked, completely

“Ugh, do you even listen to a _word_ I say?” Larxene asked.

“Name someone who does,” Riku said in return.

Larxene opened her mouth, ready to comment back. But she held off. Riku smirked, and everyone else in the table laughed. Larxene huffed out.

“ _Whatever_ , loser,” Larxene replied. “He doesn’t _have_ a boyfriend, but whatever he has with Axel’s as close as you’ll get.”

“Axel?” Riku asked, scrunching up his nose in disgust. “The one with clown make up?”

His comment seemed to make all the hated Larxene had towards him evaporate. She burst out laughing, and the rest of the table followed suit.

“Yes! That freak!” she continued to laugh to her heart’s content. Riku didn’t get the joke but wasn’t about to start questioning it now. “He thinks little Roxas and his gang are _sooo_ much more fun than us.”

 _Anyone is more fun than you,_ Riku wanted to say. Instead, he began tuning the violin he had in his hand. It made a very horrid sound that scared away a few of the guys around them. Marluxia seemed to find glee in this. Riku couldn’t begin to understand why.

“Well, as I was saying,” Larxene continued with a sigh. “That loser is _so_ weird. I’m not sure what happened, but he's so lame only _Kairi_ would hang out with him now.”

“Why Kairi?” Riku asked, still playing some notes in the violin. "What’s wrong with her?"

He was only half paying attention to whatever Larxene was saying at this point. The violin was way off tune, and if Riku wanted to play even a bit before class started, he had to get it to work.

“What’s wrong with her?” Larxene asked. “Riku, in what world do you live in? No one wants to hang out with her! She’s an absolute fake!”

The sound of the violin creaked to loud everyone had to cover their ears. Larxene yelled the angriest _“what the fuck is wrong with you?!”_ Riku had heard in a while.

Or well, half-heard.

Because as soon Larxene blurted out the words ‘she’s a fake’, Riku ditched everything in nearby distance.

He had to find Kairi.

* * *

Thankfully, he did find her.

Curled up in one of the staircases, munching a bit of whatever veggies she had in her plate.

“You okay?” Riku asked, sitting by her side.

“What are you doing here?” Kairi asked, a pout clear in the way she spoke. She was angry.

“Heard from Larxene you were having a hard time,” he replied.

“It reached Larxene now?!” Kairi asked the horror was clear in her face. “Great! Now all the school will know!”

She dropped her to her hands, curling up even more. Riku noted she was no longer wearing the frilly skirts and tank top he’d gotten so used to see her in. All she had was a baggy, oversized shirt and washed out jeans.

“Can I ask what happened?”

“Xehanort happened!” Kairi said. Riku was startled a bit. He was used to seeing Kairi mad, angry and childish in her fits. But he’d never seen her be _this_ open about her hatred for someone, in public.

“The jock that graduated like two years ago?” Riku asked, vaguely recalling the name. And only because the rumours and scandals that name brought were too big for even _Riku_ to ignore.

“He still goes to some parties we throw,” Kairi said.

“What? Lame,” Riku said with disgust. “What’s a college dude doing hanging with high schoolers?”

“Ruining our lies, apparently,” Kairi said, simmering in anger. “He made a move on me, in Cindy’s last party…”

“Gross,” Riku said.

“I know!” Kairi all but shrilled. “I was so pissed! He was drunk, I was tipsy, and I had a shitty week! I didn’t want a gross old jock groping me under my skirt, so I judo-flipped him!”

Riku couldn’t help but chuckle. Despite her size, Kairi knew how to kick ass. He’d seen her, more than once, beat up guys twice her size. Quite a reason for him to never believe the whole ‘damsel in distress’ act.

“Good!” Riku said.

“Not good!” Kairi replied, lightly punching Riku in the shoulder. “He instantly called me a tease, and I was too angry to respond! I just began-! Cursing and flipping, and punching and-!”

“Kairi, calm down,” Riku said. He watched his friend get more and more worked up until she was breathing heavily.

“They took a video! What do you think the entire school thought when they saw the ‘Princess of Light’ punch a guy three years older than her?!”

“That she was pretty cool?” Riku asked with a shrug.

“That she’s a fake! A phoney!” Kairi shrilled. Riku shrugged again. “No one thinks I’m a princess! I’m an ogre! There are so many memes about me being ‘Fiona’ from Shrek. I’m going to scream if I see one more!”

It took Riku an insane amount of self-control not to burst out laughing. Maybe between the two of them, it would have been a funny joke. But when it was in everyone’s twitter feed, it definitely wasn’t as funny.

“They’ll forget about it,” Riku said. “It doesn’t matter.”

“They’re not going to forget it soon enough for prom,” Kairi said. Her voice suddenly got quieter. Heavy tears began falling down her cheeks. “I’m not going to be Princess of the Light…And I know, I don’t even _have_ friends.”

“What about Cindy?” Riku asked, recalling she was the one Kairi hung out with the most.

“She’s angry I punched Xehanort,” she huffed out. “Apparently she wanted to date him or something.”

“Karen?”

“Taking Cindy’s side,” Kairi replied.

“Samantha?”

“She keeps tagging in Shrek memes, and making fun of my clothes,” Kairi said with a huff. “And Johana is scared of me. And Lilian is acting as if I don’t exist.”

Riku stared at her confused. A few days ago, Kairi had been the superstar of high school. So full of light and love that she seemed unreachable.

Now she was hunched over, eating stale veggies in a poor attempt to remain on a diet she didn’t need anymore.

“Well, at least you still have one friend,” Riku said.

“Who is even left?” Kairi sighed.

“Well, me?” Riku said.

Kairi blinked.

“What?” she asked.

“If you want to,” Riku replied with a shrug. “I mean, I’m not exactly Mr Popular, but-”

“You…think of me as your friend?” Kairi asked.

Riku stared at Kairi with wide-open eyes.

“Of course, you are!” Riku exclaimed. “We hang out after school, and you helped me out with Sora!”

“That attempt sucked!” Kairi exclaimed.

“Well, you _tried_ to help,” Riku shrugged. “That’s something.”

Riku wasn’t sure why Kairi was so taken aback by the revelation. He hadn’t thought he was that bad at expressing himself. But looking at the way Kairi was tearing up in the staircase that leads to the bathroom, he realized there was a high chance he _was_.

Unconsciously, he opened his arms. Kairi quickly took the hint and launched herself into his arms. She sobbed loudly. Very un-princess-like, he wanted to joke. But he didn’t. Instead, he let her cry her eyes out until she was too tired to move. When the bell rang, she hummed out a very weak ‘ _I don’t wanna go’_ , to which Riku replied ‘ _let’s skip_ ’.

It was the first time Kairi skipped, with her being an honour student an all. It wasn’t the first to Riku. But it was his first time skipping with a friend.

They both got scolded when they reached algebra together.

* * *

“There’s gonna be a school play, did you know?” Kairi asked one day after class.

They were both holed up in the music classroom. In light of recent events, Riku stopped hanging out with Marluxia and his friends, in favour of spending time with Kairi. Larxene kept spreading rumours about how the two of them were dating, which was getting annoying real fast. Not to mention, Kairi didn’t like them.

Honestly, spending his afternoons with Kairi at the nearest McDonalds was way more fun than insult a freshman in the school’s parking lot.

“Hm, really?” Riku asked. His hands were strumming the strings of the old ukelele he’d found in the room. It still _kinda_ worked, which was good enough for Riku.

“You should join it!” Kairi said with an exciting beat.

“I can’t act,” Riku replied. He started playing the chords of ‘ _here comes the sun’_. It sounded bad. He opted to blame the broken ukulele for it.

“As sound help, genius,” Kairi said with a grin. “They could use you, for once. I heard it’s a musical.”

Riku stopped playing the instrument.

A musical…

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Riku replied. “I don’t wanna bother him.”

They both knew who he meant by _him_.

“Well, good thing he isn’t playing?” Kairi asked with a gentle quirk of the head.

Riku almost dropped the ukulele.

“He what?!”

“Well, Sora isn’t playing in the musical,” Kairi said again. “I’m not surprised. With all that went on with Roxas and him.”

“What went on with them?” Riku asked, suddenly feeling a bit dizzy. “All I heard from Larxene is that Roxas rejected him.”

“Wait, you mean you don’t know?” Kairi asked. Her eyes went wide with worry.

At this point, Riku couldn’t keep holding back the anxiety that bloomed inside his chest.

“Know what!?” he all but screamed. “What happened to Sora!?”

Kairi looked away for a bit, trying to find the right way to put it. After a few seconds of failing though, she sighed.

“You know he confessed, right?” she asked. Riku nodded, very slowly. “Well, if _you_ know…how many people do you think know too?”

Riku gaped.

“I have no idea how the news spread so fast!” Kairi exclaimed, seemingly as weirded out by the unfolding events. She continued, a bit calmer. “After that, all I heard was that he had a _really_ big fight with Roxas…I think one of them got suspended? They haven’t talked to each other ever since and, from the looks of it, Sora isn’t doing so good.”

That…didn’t sound like Sora at all.

An unsettling feeling started growing in the base of his stomach. There was just, something wrong about what Kairi had said. He’d avoided Sora for a good year now, but that couldn’t be it. Sora, who always laughed and got excited about play rehearsal…The person he remembered, didn’t sound anything like the one Kairi was talking about.

But then, he remembered the last time he spoke to Sora. Even back then, Sora had seemed off.

 _“_ We shouldn’t worry _,”_ he said to himself. “He still has friends he can rely on.”

To that, Kairi visibly frowned.

“Who?” she asked.

Riku shrugged.

“Anyone,” Riku replied. “Sora has many friends.”

“Hmm, aside from Roxas and his sister, I don’t really remember him hanging out with anyone else,” Kairi commented, clearly sceptical.

“So? Everybody likes him,” Riku said.

“I think you’re confused Riku,” Kairi said with a slight frown. “He might be nice, but that doesn’t mean a lot in the animal city that is high school! I seriously doubt he has anyone to fall under now that…Well, now that he can’t face Roxas.”

“You think he’s…” Riku started.

“I _know_ he is,” she answered with certainty. “Have you _seen_ him lately? It’s kinda depressing.”

Riku didn’t sound the like of that at all. And while he was still scared and hurt, Sora was his friend. If he needed help, he should be there.

With a made-up mind, Riku turned to Kairi.

“Don’t wait for me after class,” he said.

“You gonna play Romeo?” Kairi asked with a grin.

Riku promptly ignored her and the contagious laugh she spilt soon after.

* * *

It was strange to come back to a classroom he’d spent so much time in after so much time had gone by. Familiar, yet foreign.

The first thing he noticed was the smell. The distinct scent of humidity that impregnated the walls was still there. And so was the nothingness of the turned off lights.

“Figures,” Riku sighed. It wasn’t that surprising for it to be empty, but Riku still had the hope Sora hadn’t changed. That, at the very least, he still liked to rehearse well past school hours.

Even so, he flipped the switch on the wall. One of the light bulbs was burnt out, which lead it to be only half-lit. Really, did the school never give the art department a budget?

He stepped forward, and just then he noticed that he wasn’t alone in the room.

“Riku?”

It’d been almost a year since he last heard Sora’s voice directed at him. The suddenness of it caused him to shiver, and almost bolt out the room.

But he was here to talk to Sora, so he stilled himself in place.

“Hey,” he said and immediately regretted it. Seems like he was still as awkward in human contact as he’d been back in middle school. And while normally he _didn’t_ care. Right now, he truly wished he’d at least taken advice from Kairi before coming here.

“Uhm, hey?” Sora managed to say. “D-Did you need something?”

Riku played with the strap of his backpack, unsure of what to say or do. He really hadn’t thought this through. His mind had only connected ‘Sora’s in trouble’ with ‘Go check on him’ but that was about it.

With trouble, he managed to speak.

“I heard you’re not participating in this year’s school play,” he said.

“Y-yeah, I’m not…feeling all that great,” Sora replied. His smile was still there, but it wasn’t the bright metal one Riku remembered.

“But it’s finally a musical,” Riku said. He took a step closer, hoping to catch Sora’s eyes. “I thought you wanted to be in one.”

The boy was sitting by the piano, far away from the door and curled up in his own body. It was hard to see him from where Riku was standing, so he got closer. Much to his surprise, however, it only seemed to make Sora get even more fidgety.

“Things got out of hand,” Sora said.

“So I heard,” Riku spoke. He stared down at the boy, sitting on the stage with arms shielding his body.

Riku’s heart was trumping in his chest. Beating loudly with anxiety, as he took in Sora’s form.

He was so _different_.

His smile was so dim, Riku barely recognized it. No longer where his braces a multi-coloured neon splash. They were a dull grey, easily mixed in with the metal in his mouth. The 80’s style that he remembered was also gone. A large hoodie, and jeans. The only semblance of what had been a bright, cheerful star was the bandaids in his arms – still, Disney themed – and the hairclips that kept the hair out of his way.

Sora seemed. Almost muted.

And despite that, the sweet smile on Sora’s face was still shining bright. Like he’d remembered. Perfectly intact, as if frozen in time. Well, almost.

In the corners, Riku could tell there was something wrong. Not quite as wide, not quite as cheerful, not quite as colourful as it’d been back when they first met.

“Did something happen?” he asked without stopping to think.

At first, he wanted to smack himself. Because, slowly, the smile that’d been so evergreen in Sora’s face, was suddenly cracking. Falling on the seams. And just like that, it broke.

Almost as if he’d touched a trigger, the tears began forming in Sora’s eyes. In panic, Riku dropped his backpack and kneeled to his side.

“R-Riku!” he cried. “Riku!”

Riku had no idea how to react. Sora was sobbing, trying to wipe away his tears with the back of his own sleeves. It was a futile attempt. No matter how much he tried to, they just continued to spill unto the wooden floor of the stage. Riku couldn’t bear to stare any longer.

Pushing down every emotion he thought was about to burst from him, he pulled Sora towards him. Without doubting even a second, he enveloped Sora in the tightest hug he could muster.

The feeling of the soft fabric against his arms was strange. Not unpleasant, but definitely something he wasn’t used to. He’d initially hoped his attempt to console Sora would make him stop crying. But it didn’t. If anything, he cried even harder.

Riku was about to pull away, scared he’d taken things _too_ far. But Sora’s hands reached for the back of his shirt and clung to it. The hug got closer, as Sora returned it and refused to let go.

It was only then when Riku relaxed. Let his body be overtaken by the warmth that was Sora, while the boy cried a river of tears on his already worn-out shirt.

They stayed there for long silent minutes, in which the only thing either could hear was Sora’s broken sobs. Riku was still confused but didn’t say a thing. Refused to do anything more than hold Sora tightly, at least until the younger boy pulled away.

And when he finally did, Riku couldn’t help but stare.

Sora’s eyes were puffy and red, and snot was all over his nose. It could have been gross if Riku hadn’t been _dying_ to see and talk to Sora for the last year and a half.

“You okay?” Riku asked.

It couldn’t be said that Sora _answered_. He just gave a light shrug, bringing his knees closer to his chest.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have-,” Sora tried to say. His face was lightly dusted pink. “…I think I got your shirt dirty.”

Riku let out a low chuckle. Then shrugged.

“It’s a shirt, Sora,” he said. “I’m more worried about _why_ you’re crying.”

“It’s dumb,” Sora replied, hiding his face in the gap between his knees.

“If it has you this upset, I seriously doubt it,” Riku said instead. “What happened?”

Sora didn’t answer. Kept his lips shut, without even bothering to raise his head to meet Riku’s eyes.

Riku couldn’t blame him. After he’d acted like an asshole for more than a year, it was obvious Sora didn’t want to tell him _everything_. He was still worried, though. But it’s not like he could _explain_ things. Even if he wanted to, he was never good with words. There was no doubt he’d make a fool of himself if he tried to say it.

A sudden idea popped into his mind.

He reached for the pocket of the sweater he had tied around his waist. The little ball of fur was still asleep, but when he sensed Sora’s presence, it quickly got up.

_‘Squeak!’_

Sora finally raised his head, a little gasp escaping him as Riku held out his hand.

“Mickey!” Sora squealed. With no second to lose, Sora reached for the rat in Riku’s hand. Michael also didn’t bother to wait and climbed all over Sora’s hand to play.

“Thought having a friend would be nice,” Riku said, finally relaxing enough to sit down. “He missed you.”

“I missed him too!” Sora beamed, scratching Mickey’s fur with a finger.

“He was also really worried about you,” Riku continued.

“He was?” Sora asked, a little startled.

“Yeah, he heard about you quitting the school play,” Riku said, trying his best to keep his voice as aloof as always. It was proving to be more difficult than initially planned, seeing that Sora was now _smiling_. Which was very dangerous for Riku’s heart. “He knows how much it matters to you and freaked out. Couldn’t even wait a day before coming to see you.”

“Is that so?” Sora said, eyes glittering like stones against the dimly lit classroom.

“He’s such a worrywart,” Riku said, hiding his face so it didn’t show the blush in his face. “Maybe you could tell him why you’re so sad? Who knows, maybe he can help.”

Sora laughed lowly.

“You’re so kind, Mr Michael,” Sora said, directing his eyes toward the little rat that rested in the palms of his hand. “I usually wouldn’t say…but if it’s someone who’s worried about me, maybe I could. Do you wanna hear it?”

Mickey squeaked once again, and Sora took is a prompt to continue. However, the slight fall of his smile didn’t go unnoticed by Riku.

“Well, you see Mr Michael, when I was a kid, I got bullied a lot,” Sora began. The declaration startled Riku enough to jump. “Nothing serious! I just got teased for wearing hair clips and skirts in elementary school! But you see, that didn’t matter, because Roxas was always there to help me. He scared away aaall the bad guys. In a way, he became my knight in shining armour! And I liked Disney even back then, that I just couldn’t help but fall in love!”

Riku listened attentively. With a sullen expression, he realized that Sora’s love for Roxas was deep-rooted and genuine. The type that wouldn’t be easy to shake away. If he’d stayed close to him, the pain of having to see Sora speak of another with such hope-filled eyes would have been enough to kill him.

“…But the more I grew, the more I realized we’re sorta different?” Sora let out a forced laugh. It absolutely broke Riku’s heart. “So I stopped wearing skirts and wearing hair clips, and all that silly kid-stuff. I thought maybe that way he’d like me? It…didn’t work, obviously. ”

Riku clenched his fists as tightly as he could.

“And I think I would have been okay! If he just rejected me but, I made everything awkward. So now I’m all alone again…”

Again?

“You see, Mr Michael, I’m not good with people. Some think I’m annoying, or that I talk too much. I try to be friendly, but no one sticks around for long. At least, not until Riku…” Sora spoke. His voice was breaking. Riku could only swallow. “The days we stayed after class were the most fun, I had! So, even after Riku stopped coming here, even when there was no reason for me to stay after school…I waited!”

Sora was crying again. And Riku knew that, at this point, he was crying too.

“Every day I waited for Riku to come back. I thought that maybe I bored him, or worse-! I annoyed him. And I saw how much fun he was having with everyone else,” Sora’s voice was barely heard. He started to sob, broken pieces spilling as he talked. “So, when I told Roxas I liked him and he became _weird_ , I just couldn’t take it anymore…I felt too sad and alone. Like I didn’t have a single friend in the world. Like I was left behind because no one liked me.”

“That’s not true, Sora,” Riku said. With slow movements, he took Mickey away from Sora’s hands. Without the little creature in his hands, Sora finally broke down.

He teared up, sobbing loudly once more. As if all the pain in his chest had been let loose, and – for the first time ever – he let himself cry.

“I’m sorry,” Sora cried. “I-I should have-”

“I should be the one apologizing,” Riku said instead. “I never left because I stopped having fun, I was just-…scared.”

“You were scared?” Sora asked, confused. “Of what?”

Riku felt his cheeks heat up.

“Of not being enough, I guess,” he replied honestly. “That you’d get bored of me, or that I got in the way.”

“You would never-!” Sora said in a gasp.

“You sure?”

“Yeah! You’re like the coolest person I know!” he said. “I don’t even know why you hung out with me…I’m kinda annoying.”

Riku frowned.

“Who said that?”

“Hmm, no one but…” Sora said, suddenly looking away.

“Well, that’s not what I heard,” Riku said.

“Heard from who?” Sora asked, sceptical.

“A little someone named Michael,” Riku said.

“Really?” Sora laughed.

“What is it, Michael?” Riku pretended that his rat was talking in his ear. He ‘listened’ very earnestly before turning back to Sora. “He says you’re awesome.”

“He says that?” Sora asked, eyelids blinking softly. “How?”

“Hmm, he says it’s because your smile,” Riku continued. “It’s nice.”

“But I have brackets,” Sora replied with a frown. “Everyone makes fun of them.”

“Well, Michael thinks they’re cute,” Riku said.

“Cute!?” Sora squeaked, red in the face.

“Cool! He said cool!” Riku very hurriedly tried to fix his mess. His face was burning entirely. But it was worth it, seeing how Sora’s smile was slowly returning to his face. Riku took a deep breath and continued. “And that it’s nice that you still draw little crowns in the cuffs of your jeans.”

Sora’s hand went to cover up the one rolled up cuff he had. They were hand-me-downs from his guardian, so they hung a bit too loose by the ankles. Riku laughed.

“Tell Michael that’s private!” Sora said with a burning bright face. “I didn’t know anyone noticed…”

“Well, _he_ noticed,” Riku said. “Just like he noticed that you also fill out quizzes from dumb teen magazines-!”

“Riku!” Sora squeaked. Riku laughed so hard his side hurt at the sight of Sora trying to tell him to shut up. He missed this. So very much.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Riku said, without an ounce of regret. It had been a long time since he laughed so hard his side hurt.

“Mickey is a jerk,” Sora huffed.

“He is very sorry,” Riku said, extending his hand to get Michael closer to Sora. “See? Utterly heartbroken.”

Micheal squeaked again, jumping the short distance to land on Sora’s shoulder. Despite how red in embarrassment Sora had been, as soon as he had his hands-on Michael again, his smile returned. He let the small rodent rub his nose against his cheek with no

“I thought you stopped bringing him,” Sora confessed.

“Of course I didn’t,” Riku said. “But Leka caught me bringing him to school and I got grounded. So now I have to be sneaky about it.”

A gentle smile appeared on Sora’s face.

“I’m glad Riku didn’t change,” Sora said. Riku flinched. “You got so many new friends, and you stopped coming here that I thought maybe you were different. But no! The important parts are still the same!”

Riku would argue he wasn’t. Larxene’s silver tongue definitely rubbed on him more than he’d liked, and now he was a bit more conscious about his appearance – thanks, Kairi-. But to Sora, that didn’t seem to matter. The only thing that matter was that Riku was still a nerd that brought his pet rat to school and scribbled tunes in a notebook that was on the verge of tearing apart.

“So-,” Riku began. “-you’re really not participating in the school play?”

Sora thought for a moment. Actually, thought about it.

“I’m not sure if I should,” he replied, genuinely. “It’d be all alone again, and everyone laughs when I take it _too_ seriously.”

Riku could understand that. His incessant need to learn every instrument he could get his hands on, let to others thinking of him as annoying or weird. The only ones that hadn’t cared were Marluxia’s friends and Kairi. And Marluxia’s friends didn’t care because more than it pissed them, it bothered others more. Seriously, those guys could put up with _anything_ if it made someone else miserable.

“Then, how about I join?” Riku asked. Sora perked up at this. “As musical support! I’m not good with the acting-! But I could get some people to sign up.”

“You would?” Sora asked. It was clear in his face he was excited. It was almost as if the light and colour that this past year had sucked out of Sora, was slowly coming back.

“I can pull a few favours,” he replied.

“Then, yes!” Sora beamed. “It’ll be just like the first year!”

Riku couldn’t help but smile. That alone sounded more than right.

* * *

Sora was excited for play rehearsal all over again. He felt childish, like he was back in middle school, jumping up and down with a chance to shine in the stage.

But now, he had a reason other than the actual _acting_ to be so excited.

And that reason was that Riku was here!

Apparently, his ‘pull a few favours’ was bringing along Kairi. The actual Princess of Light: Kairi.

“You know I’m probably not going to win that again, you know?” Kairi said with an awkward smile when Sora commented on it.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Everyone’s kinda scared of me now,” she replied with a grimace. “Because of the video?”

Sora vaguely recalled said video. It would be a lie to say he hadn’t been the slightest bit scared. After all, the punch that Kairi dealt was enough to send a college student stumbling backwards into the pull. But more than scary, Sora had thought it was cool.

And he said as much.

“Cool?” Kairi asked, perplexed.

“Yeah! You’re so strong! I think it’s amazing!”

Kairi stared at him. Then, with the slightest turn towards Riku, she grinned.

“I like this one,” she said.

They barely got enough people to join in to complete the cast. The teacher, when presented with the dilemma of choosing parts, decided to let them audition.

“Can you act, Kairi?” Sora asked.

“I think I’ll manage,” she replied with a confident smile. “I’ve been acting the past three years, what’s a few more minutes on stage?” 

“Then you can audition for Belle’s part,” Sora offered, giving her the flyer that held all the roles. “It’d also mean singing, but I heard you in the talent show. You’ll do just fine.”

“Belle’s part?” Riku asked, taking the flier from Kairi’s hand.

Kairi seemed visibly upset.

“I’d…rather not play the princess part anymore,” she said.

“Oh,” Sora said. “Maybe you could play Mrs Potts…But she sings the main theme, so it’ll be more difficult for you.”

“Why don’t you play the prince?” Riku asked. Sora blinked, shooting a quick look towards Kairi. They both turned towards Riku, who seemed confused by the strange looks they were shooting him. “What?”

“For me…to play the Beast?” Kairi asked, eyes widening slightly. Riku caught on to what it implied and was quick to try and take it back. But before he could, Kairi lit up and beamed. “I like it! He doesn’t sing much, right?”

“A few lines with the princess but-,” Sora bit his lip. “-I wanted to play the prince…”

“But the prince _doesn’t_ sing,” Riku pointed out with a frown.

Sora felt his cheeks heat up.

“Well, it’s the biggest male role there is,” Sora replied. “I could audition for Lumiere since he sings ‘Be Our Guest’…”

“Who’s the one who sings and acts the most, then?” Riku asked.

“Obviously Belle,” Sora replied.

“Well, then. If Kairi’s auditioning as the Beast, why don’t you audition as Belle?” Riku said.

Sora stilled in place.

Truth be told, he wanted nothing _more_ than to audition as Belle. He knew every single one of the songs, and he practised in his bedroom more time than he could count those parts. It was his secret joy to sing the Belle (reprise) in front of the audience.

But.

“Do you think they’ll let me?” he asked.

“Of course they will!” Kairi exclaimed. “And if they don’t, I’ll personally beat them up!”

Sora couldn’t help it. He laughed. Realistically, Kairi definitely could punch them until they were blue. It was highly unlikely, and probably just a joke. But it helped ease his nerves.

“Don’t worry,” Riku said. “There’s no one in this room that’d be a better Belle than you.”

For some reason, those words made Sora’s chest start beating loudly.

“Alright!” he beamed. “Let’s do this!”

The plan ended up going better than he’d originally thought. Apparently, switching up some of the roles made the rest of the auditioning cast a bit more excited. A boy ended up getting the Mrs Pott role. While his acting wasn’t perfect, he had a better voice than Sora – but only for ballads. A girl was very excited to play Lumiere, and she added a lot of excitement to the already iconic song.

Finding a Gaston proved to be difficult since no girl wanted to take that particular role. And a lot of boys weren’t exactly _thrilled_ to act as they wanted to marry another boy. Thankfully, one of the boys offered to play it. And it was a very good actor. They’d have to work on his vocals but, overall, the play seemed to be going in a pretty good direction.

By that point, Sora was jumping up and down in excitement. Everything was going great.

“See?” Riku said from his side. “Told you it’d be fun.”

Sora couldn’t agree more. There was no amount of words that would be able to say how grateful he was for Riku to be there. And that was saying something. Sora was known for never running out of words. But for some reason, it seemed like the more time he spent with Riku, the less words made sense.

A week later, they were all starting to practice for the play. The ones who spent the most time in the classroom where, obviously, Sora, Kairi and Riku. Seeing that Kairi and Sora had the main character roles, and Riku was the one helping with the music and audio.

Sora soon found that Kairi was really fun to be around. Perhaps if he had met her while she was still ‘Princess of Light’ it’d be difficult for them to talk. However, the Kairi before him was different. She liked to joke and pull pranks and teased Sora to no end. Yet, there was still real kindness underneath it all.

Kindness that came in all shapes and forms.

More than once Kairi would pull him into a hug, or compliment any type of accessory he wore. Despite how much he liked wearing hair clips and bracelets after Roxas had commented they looked kinda childish, Sora wore them less and less. That’s why it came to a surprise to be told by Kairi that she liked them. And perhaps an even greater one was when she said _Riku_ also liked how they looked on him.

That thought kept circling in Sora’s head for an entire week, which caused him to miss his cues during play rehearsal more than once. Which was one too many times.

And so, Sora got used to Kairi also coming to practice after school. They often stayed until very late, and Kairi didn’t have the patience to wait until they finished to eat. That’s why she would sneak out and bring hamburgers for the three of them.

They were good. Or maybe it was just that, by that point, Sora had gone a long while without eating and that caused it to taste heavenly. Or maybe, it was just the joy of eating together with friends, which caused everything to taste ten times better than it truly did.

“Mhm, these taste so good,” Kairi almost moaned as she bit into her burger.

“You sure do love these,” Riku pointed out.

“Try an all-vegan diet for a semester and you’ll be mouth-watering for anything close to junk food,” Kairi complained.

“Vegan diet?” Sora asked. “Why did you do that?”

“Part of the _‘perfect girl’_ gig,” Kairi replied with a shrug. “You can’t be anything more than a size 3 and red meat is the devil.”

“Sounds boring,” Riku commented.

“More than boring,” Kairi groaned out loud. “I would have killed for a taco back then.”

“I know a great place!” Sora said immediately. “My uncle Remy owns a place. He sells everything you could think of.”

“As long as it has carbs, I’m in,” Kairi replied. She took another huge bite of her burger. “You think I can reach Taco Bell in less than thirty minutes?”

“By car?”

“On foot.”

“Fat chance,” Riku replied.

“Excuse you, I won the rally two years in a row,” Kairi exclaimed. “I’m faster than _you_.”

“You can throw a punch better than me, but you can’t run faster than me,” Riku replied.

“I could race you if I wanted!”

I can also run!” Sora said. “We could all have a race! That’d be fun.”

“That wouldn’t be fair,” Kairi said. “I’d feel so bad for beating you, I’d let you win.”

“Talk for yourself, I would definitely beat Sora,” Riku said.

“Yeah, _sure_. Out of the two, you’re the one most likely to go easy on him,” Kairi said, sticking out her tongue. “ _Nerd_.”

Sora was having fun, to the point he almost forgot they were supposed to be practising for the play. Not that they needed much practice. Kairi had memorized her all her parts and was honestly very good at acting. The only ones who truly needed to practice were Sora and Riku, who didn’t want to finish until they were both sure that their ensemble was as close to perfect as it could possibly get.

He was so caught up in their chat, he didn’t hear the door being opened. In fact, he didn’t realize someone was staring at him, until Riku and Kairi shut up, glaring daggers at the person who was behind Sora.

When he turned, he could see why.

It was Roxas.

“Uhm, is it a bad time?” Roxas asked.

“Ah, no, it isn’t!” Sora said, quick to get up from the dirty classroom floor. “You needed something?”

“I just-…” Roxas stole a look towards Kairi and Riku. Then sighed. “-…wanted to talk.”

“We could talk,” Sora said. He felt awkward standing in front of his friends. “Outside?”

“Yeah, I think that’s best,” Roxas said.

They both got out of the classroom. Outside was a bit chilly, so Sora was thankful for the sweater Riku had lent him. It was so warm and still smelled of him. Somehow, it brought him the courage to see Roxas in the eyes again.

“I’m s-,” Sora tried to star but was cut short by Roxas.

“I’m sorry!” he cried quickly.

Sora was left perplexed in his place.

“You’re sorry?” Sora asked, a bit confused.

“I’m…I started going out with Axel,” Roxas explained, red in the face.

“Oh,” he said. That…That didn’t feel good. Did Roxas come only to say that? “Congratulations?”

“That’s why I can’t go out with you,” Roxas elaborated.

“Hm, yeah, I figured _that_ already,” Sora said. Why was it so hard for him to stare at Roxas? It felt so awkward! “Kairi mentioned something like that. Don’t worry. I don’t mind about that.”

“You don’t?” Roxas asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, you left it pretty clear that you didn’t want to date me,” Sora replied. “Or that you wanted to be friends…”

“I never said that! I said I’d think about it!” Roxas exclaimed.

Sora gave a very nervous smile.

“Everyone knows that’s the same as a ‘ _no’_ ,” Sora replied. It seemed like Roxas didn’t know that. He was genuinely confused. Sora couldn’t blame him. If it hadn’t been for Xion telling him that, he’d still be waiting for an answer.

“That doesn’t mean we aren’t friends!” Roxas exclaimed, visibly frustrated.

That took Sora by surprise.

And perhaps more chillingly, it made him feel happier.

If Roxas had said this a month before, he’d be heartbroken. The pain of being friends with someone he loved more than anything, would have been unbearable. Yet, now…

“You mean it?” Sora asked, letting the sizzling hope start forming in his stomach.

“Of course I do,” Roxas replied with a smile. “If you want to, I mean. I know it could be hard.”

Sora shook his head.

“That’s perfect,” he replied.

Roxas stared for a moment at him. Sora felt a bit self-conscious, wondering if there was something wrong about him.

“You seem happier,” Roxas pointed out. “You started wearing silly bands again.”

Sora felt his cheeks heat up and pulled Riku’s sleeve down to cover his wrist. He’d been so caught up in a world where small things like this didn’t matter, that he’d forgotten other people thought they were weird.

He fought the urge to take them off. Mostly, because he _liked_ them. They were the Disney themed ones Riku had bought for him when they went with Kairi to the mall. No matter how embarrassed he felt by being judged, he wanted them to stay on.

“Ah! I didn’t mean they look bad!” Roxas was very quick to correct himself. “They look great! I missed seeing you so happy, actually.”

“Happy?” Sora asked. He had always been happy.

“When you hung out with me, I felt like you were pretending to be someone else,” Roxas confessed. “It worried me. And when you said you liked me, I panicked. Because I thought I’d be the reason why you were going to be so…miserable. I'm sorry I snapped at you like that.”

“But I was happy before,” Sora said.

“Maybe, but you weren’t being yourself,” Roxas replied. “Listen, I know Axel and Saix can be…tough to be around. They like to joke and make fun of others. I don’t mind, because they’re idiots. But it showed it bothered _you_. When they insulted something you liked, you stopped talking about it. I tried to make them stop but-…You know how they are.”

“Yeah, I know,” Sora said with a sigh.

“I’m just glad you are having fun now,” Roxas said. “Like, _actually_ having fun. Not just tolerating someone because you don’t have someone else.”

It was surreal how that sentence alone took off a weight that’d been growing in Sora’s chest. Because it was true. Now that he had Kairi and Riku by his side, everything somehow felt _easier_. They didn’t make fun of what he liked, and when they joked it was all about stuff that Sora could understand. There was no reason to fake a laugh or force himself into the conversation. Kairi liked to discuss with him the role of women in Disney movies, and how limited theatre becomes to anything that isn’t the predetermined straight male role. And Riku was more than glad to listen to musicals with him, no matter how silly the premise was.

It felt good how much they _belonged_.

“It does feel good,” Sora confessed. That brought a smile to Roxas.

Perhaps, Roxas had been worried. About Sora not finding his place in the jungle that was high school. That’s why he decided to stay by his side. But now that Sora had someone, he could relax.

“I’m sorry for making you feel so shitty,” Roxas said once more. “Or making you think you didn’t have friends anymore.”

“It’s okay, really,” Sora reassured him with a smile.

“Seriously, if there’s anything you need, just say it,” Roxas said.

Sora was about to tell him not to worry but hesitated. A mischievous thought entered his mind.

“Actually,” Sora said. “There might be something you can do to make it up.”

Roxas looked uncomfortable. He often did whenever Sora came up with a crazy idea. The difference this time, however, was that Sora didn’t feel like backing down just because of that.

“You said Axel’s in a band, right?” Sora asked.

“If this about you getting into the band, we talked about it,” Roxas said. They had. Sora had attempted to impress Roxas by being a vocalist in the band. The thing was that it’s very different to sing for a musical and for a band.

Especially for a Disney nerd like Sora. The styles had clashed so bad everyone cringed just remembering.

“No, no, not me!” Sora said, not letting the memory wash away his excitement. “Riku!”

“The delinquent?” Roxas asked with wide eyes.

“Delinquent?” Sora almost laughed at that. “Riku wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“I heard he punched Demyx,” Roxas said.

That was true. But Sora was not about to argue semantics.

“He knows how to play almost any instrument,” Sora replied. “And he sings well! He’d be perfect!”

Roxas seemed to think about it, not entirely sure. But Sora wasn’t one to back away easily.

“Please! I’ll do anything! Just hear him out! At least to get him rid of his stage fright?”

Roxas sighed.

“When have I ever been able to say no to you?” Roxas complained.

Sora beamed.

* * *

The day of the play, Sora was trembling all over. He was holding tightly to Kairi’s side, feeling like was gonna pass out.

“You act like it’s your first time on stage,” Kairi said with a light smile.

“There’s never been so many people!” Sora said with a squeak.

“I’m sorry, I really thought people wouldn’t care that ‘former princess of light Kairi’ was gonna act at the school play,” Kairi said, eyeing the crowd with worry. “One would think once you fall from glory, you’re over. Who would have guessed they only talk about you more?”

The crowd was, in fact, huge. Apparently, the rumour of Kairi playing the Beast’s role got spread like wildfire, and now everyone wanted to know what the deal with the school play was. In the past, there’d been ten people at most during the play’s opening night.

Currently, half the school was here!

“We’re fucked,” Sora said, almost ready to drop in the second.

“Language,” Kairi chastised. “And we’re not fucked-”

“-yet,” Riku interjected from behind the control panel.

“Shut up, Riku, you’re not helping,” Kairi shushed. Riku rolled his eyes and continued work to make sure the sound was working. “You’re gonna be fine, Sora! You’re the best part of the play, easily.”

“But what if I mess up,” Sora started to say, holding on to the dress Kairi was wearing even tighter. It was a very cute navy-blue dress. Currently, she wasn’t wearing the mask of the Beast. It looked really pretty on her, which only made him feel more self-conscious.

His costume wasn’t as extravagant. It only consisted of a vest and with a long white dress shirt underneath. Kairi had said it looked perfect, but he wasn’t exactly sure if he believed her. Kairi tended to make everything sound better than it actually was.

“If you mess up, you mess up,” Kairi said simply. “No use stressing out over it! Right, Riku?”

Sora looked expectantly at Riku, heart beating loudly inside his chest. The answer didn’t come immediately. It was the first time Riku actually looked at him in full get-up, and it showed. His gaze went up and down the little costume, making Sora’s nervousness rank up.

He was sure his heart was going to explode from overheating when Riku finally tore his eyes away from the outfit and spoke.

“You trust me, right?”

Sora blinked.

“Of course I do!” Sora said without hesitation.

“Then, if you mess up – which you won’t, by the way -, I’ll pick up the slack with the audio,” Riku said. “Nobody will notice. It’s a school play. Everyone’s nervous and doesn’t know what’s going on. The audience doesn’t even know the difference between staccato and legato. So, relax. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

That helped to calm Sora’s nerves. The reassurance that Riku would be there if he messed up, seemed to both wreck and ease the ache in his heart. With a firm nod, Sora let go of Kairi’s dress.

“Feeling better?” she asked, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

Sora didn’t trust his voice, so he nodded.

Riku took the microphone by his side.

“Everyone, take your seats,” his voice came from the speakers. Sora tried his best to control his own nerves, taking deep breaths. Then he let go of Kairi’s hand and took the basket she was holding. “The show is about to start.”

Kairi left the stage just then. And with the curtains slowly drawing up, the nerves began to grow, and diminish at the same time. Until he was left in a kind of limbo, where all he could do was _act_.

The sound came soon after. The very familiar notes from “Belle”, and the feeling of the reflector focused only on him. Sora managed to see the large crowd in front of him. It _was_ huge. But he forced himself not to linger on that fact. Instead, he listened carefully to the notes, so he could start on cue.

Sora took a step forward and began to sing.

* * *

Riku didn’t know a lot about theatre. Well, maybe he knew more than the average person simply because _both_ of his best friends were nerds for it. But still, all he knew came from cultural osmosis, and what little overlapped with music theory.

That’s why he wouldn’t be able to say if the play they were putting on was _objectively_ good. Much less so, when he’d put in so much work for it to even exist.

Regardless of that, however, every time Sora reached the scene of the Belle (reprise), he was blown away by the sight.

Sora’s voice was angelic in a way he couldn’t fully explain. It was clear like the crystals at the bottom of the sea, easy to travel across the air while the rest stared. The sweetness of the flowers intermixed, fluctuating to adjust the emotion of acting while he floated across the stage.

From one side of the stage, he moved towards the very front, while the reflector followed each of his movements. The ribbon that had been tied around his waist was fluttering thanks to the special effects team. It gave off the genuine feeling that he was singing against the wind, calling out to sky for the great unknown.

Sora was shining in the middle of the stage. Just like he had back when they were in middle school. Emotion overflowed with every step he took, leaving breathless everyone who stared for too long.

Riku began turning down the volume of the audio so Sora’s voiced echoed brighter during the last notes. Since the very last words were sung with such soft love ingrained in them, it was easy for them to be missed in the ocean of the instrumental.

When the silence fell, there was no sound. No one clapped or commented. Everyone simply stared, for a long, long minute.

Riku freaked out for a second, unsure of why people weren’t doing anything. They clapped after the original ‘Belle’, then why-

“Holy shit-!”

That was definitely Demyx’s voice. Sora stilled in the stage as if caught red-handed.

However, the incredibly loud shout made the audience snap out whatever had been holding them hostage. The clapping erupted, overtaking the auditorium.

From the side of the stage, Riku could see the way a smile brighter than the sun formed in Sora’s face. That alone was enough to melt Riku’s heart in a pool of goo.

But then Sora turned towards him. The pure unfiltered emotion that Sora shot him was overwhelming. And the thought of Sora instinctively searching for him, when the entire world was taken with his talent…

“Why is he so pretty?” Riku muttered, hiding his burning face from the blinding light of the stage.

* * *

After the final scene of the play came down, Sora felt his entire body buzzing with energy.

In fact, while in the very last dance, he’d been so nervous that he’d only managed to finish without tripping thanks to Kairi. She remained grounded – probably used to all the attention and stares – while Sora tried his best to give it his all in the last sprint.

Once he was in the comfort of the backstage, once the entire thing was done and he even bowed before the audience, Sora let go.

He let his knees buckle down, dropping to the ground in a trembling mess. His voice was a bit hoarse, and his entire body ached. After such gruelling days of preparation, his body had finally decided to give out.

Kairi laughed by his side, congratulating him for holding out for so long. He barely could hear her, all around it was just buzz and noise. It was a miracle he could even open his eyes. All he wanted to do was lay down and never open his eyes again.

Just then, a hand appeared before his.

In that instant, a shameful amount of Disney princess stories came to mind. All in which the exact same thing happened. A prince reaching down to help a maiden in need.

The worst part was that Sora didn’t need to look up to know who the hand belonged.

Still, he did.

Bright teal eyes that shimmered like the star appeared before him, accompanied by a smile that appeared in his dreams more times than he’d ever come to admit. Riku then huffed, little wrinkles in the corner of his eyes appearing as his smile became wider.

“Come on Sora, I thought you were stronger than that,” Riku said.

Even when his cheeks were flushed red, and his heart was beating so loud it hurt, Sora couldn’t help the excitement that bubbled up. Ignoring all the tiredness and pain wreaking havoc in his body, Sora took the hand and let himself be pulled up.

“Get real, look who’s winning,” he replied with a grin.

His words made Riku’s smile soften up. Riku took his hand, and placed it on top of Sora’s, ruffling his hair slightly.

“I knew you could do it,” Riku said. Sora’s eyes widened at that. “You really are amazing, Sora.”

At that moment, something inside Sora cracked. He wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but all of a sudden the room increased temperature by a hundred degrees.

Because of that, he pulled away.

“I have to go see Kairi!” he exclaimed, rushing towards the changing rooms.

He didn’t bother knocking before he opened it. Thankfully, inside was only Kairi who was already done changing. Whatever was happening to him was definitely evident in his face, because Kairi immediately asked.

“What’s wrong?”

Sora couldn’t answer. Physically couldn’t. His face was so flushed red he was scared it would fall off, and his heart would definitely open a hole in his chest if he waited an entire second more.

But, more pressingly worrying, were the thoughts that started circulating inside Sora’s mind. He hadn’t realized before, but – for some reason – his brain decided _now_ was the perfect time to notice. Notice Riku was taller than him. _Much_ taller. Enough that Sora barely reached the middle of his chest. Not only that, but it also decided to notice his hands were definitely wider. Was it because of basketball? But Riku quit after the second year!? And also notice how much of a pretty shade of teal his eyes were, and how kind and sweet and utterly perfect Riku is-!

“Kairi,” Sora whimpered. The look she shot him was definitely one of concern. But she was as tired – if not more – than him, so she made no attempt to get up or put her water bottle to the side. “I’m in trouble.”

Kairi continued to take large gulps from the water bottle, seemingly uncaring for the emotional wreck Sora was.

Slowly, Sora let his body drop. His back was still against the door of the changing room, but whatever little strength there’d been before was now utterly and completely gone. So, he slid down, until he was knees-against-chest sitting on the floor.

With his face still burning red, he hid behind his hands. They were colder than his face, even if not by much. He wanted to shout, shout as loud as he humanly could, but even if he were given permission, he couldn’t. His vocal cords were strained from screaming and singing in the middle of the stage.

When the time came to look at Kairi, who was still very much unimpressed with his breakdown, all he could do was half-shout in a hoarse voice that definitely didn’t sound like his own.

“Riku’s hot!”

Kairi’s mouth hung open, and she dropped the bottle to the ground. It left a puddle right by the rose prop.

“How can he be that cute?!” Sora more than say, asked. He was so freaking out so much, he couldn’t stop blabbering. “I mean, he’s h-hot! An-and cute! And kind! And honestly, how can anyone not be in love with ?! I thought everyone was a little bit in love with him, so I didn’t think it was a huge deal-! But now I think it’s a HUGE deal because I can’t even breathe when I’m around him and-, am I going to die!? What if I die because Riku’s too pretty and I stop breathing! Kairi, help!”

“Oh my god,” she said. “You _like_ Riku!”

He likes Riku.

Yeah.

Yeah, he did.

Oh no.

He’s in love with Riku.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Sora breathed.

Maybe Kairi said something about language. He couldn’t listen with the amount of blood his heart was pumping in his ears. The realization was probably the biggest in his entire life. This was different from what he felt with Roxas. It somehow burnt brighter and stronger, and at the same time, it felt _lighter_. But that didn’t change the fact he was in love with Riku! Literally the most perfect person to ever exist!

He didn’t even realize he was tearing up from the number of emotions inside his heart. He gripped the side of his head, trying to calm the maddening pace with which his mind was spiralling. Trying his damn best to stop all the images of Riku being so kind and nice to him-! But it didn’t work.

He was in love with Riku.

_“Fuuuuuck!”_

**Author's Note:**

> THIS WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE A MONSTER. I started this fic with the hopes it'd be 5k at most. But it became glaringly obvious halfway through it, that all I wanted to fit in would not be done in 5k. I was actually hoping it'd be done in 8k, but that plan ALSO went down the toilet and here we are.
> 
> This is why I have trouble finishing fics. 
> 
> Anyways, this is the second to last entry of the theatre kid sora au. And what follows will be dumb fluff. So look forwards to that, if I ever get the will to continue writing. Because it's become unsettlingly clear that I have no self-control.
> 
> This is the rose-tinted high school experience. Because, as I've said before, high school to me was utter hell. And I'm only willing to revisit it, through fluff-filled fanfics.
> 
> That said, I like the idea that Destiny Trio is two brats and a cinnamon roll, that decided the other was cool/cute despite glaring evidence saying otherwise. 
> 
> And soon enough, it'll be the return of nerdy-cute sora. Because the one good thing that college has is the ability to NOT GIVE A SHIT about how you dress.


End file.
